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The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Michael Pollan (Author), Scott Brick (Narrator), Penguin Audio (Publisher)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 4,706 ratings
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The best-selling author of The Botany of Desire explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the 21st century.

"What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another, this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't, which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance.

The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we're realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore's Dilemma is best-selling author Michael Pollan's brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America.

We are indeed what we eat, and what we eat remakes the world. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world. The Omnivore's Dilemma is a long-overdue book and one that will become known for bringing a completely fresh perspective to a question as ordinary and yet momentous as "What shall we have for dinner?"

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  1. Listening Length
    15 hours and 53 minutes
  2. Author
    Michael Pollan
  3. Narrator
    Scott Brick
  4. Audible release date
    1 January 2006
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Penguin Audio
  7. ASIN
    B01BCXMHMC
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 15 hours and 53 minutes
Author Michael Pollan
Narrator Scott Brick
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date 01 January 2006
Publisher Penguin Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B01BCXMHMC
Best Sellers Rank 12,303 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
3 in Food Science (Audible Books & Originals)
8 in Gastronomy (Audible Books & Originals)
13 in Gastronomy History (Books)

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4.6 out of 5 stars
4,706 global ratings

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Top reviews from Australia

  • Takkaz
    5.0 out of 5 stars thought-provoking and engaging
    Reviewed in Australia on 3 February 2015
    Verified Purchase
    One of those rare books that enlightens and entertains at the same time. Pollan is an intellectual heavyweight and a gifted writer. I decided to read this after hearing about it in the equally excellent 'Eating Animals' by Jonathan Safran Foer. I would recommend both these books to anyone who has ever given a thought to what they choose to eat. This universal topic is discussed on many levels: practical, environmental, social and cultural, philosophical... All discussions are balanced and at no time do either books come across as preachy. Well worth reading!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Heather Wright
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Australia on 18 February 2015
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    Wish I had read this years ago. What an eye-opener!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    1.0 out of 5 stars Never got my book so I would nt know
    Reviewed in Australia on 28 February 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I never got ther book so I would' nt know if it was good or not. I assume it was as he is great , remember you do not have a lot of protection as a consumer if your book never gets to you and they say it was delivered. You have already paid so there is little come back, you just lose your money.
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  • Natasha
    2.0 out of 5 stars Got a bit bored with the focus on corn really
    Reviewed in Australia on 3 December 2014
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    Got a bit bored with the focus on corn really. Didn't read the whole thing...there's only so much corn you can take!
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • D
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've ever read - 9.5/10
    Reviewed in the United States on 12 April 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I almost never write reviews, but after the amount of time I devoted to reading this book and the gratefulness I have to Mr. Pollan for researching and sharing his knowledge and wisdom within it, I feel obligated.

    The book is well organized into Contents of 3 Parts: Industrial (Corn), Pastoral (Grass), and Personal (Forest). I have no idea why "Personal" was chosen over the term Hunter-Gatherer, as that was what he was going for. You may have picked up on that the Contents are in reverse chronological order, a timeline from current to pre-historic. In case you are wondering what "A Natural History of Four Meals" refers to, it is those three aforementioned Parts with Pastoral being subdivided into Big Organic/Industrial Organic and Small/Local organic. Pollan's admirable and ambitious goal is to figure out how our food in the USA gets from earth to plate in each category.

    Part I - Industrial has a lot of eye-opening information in regards to farming, ranching, and the science. Even with all of that great information I found it the hardest part to get through as Pollan beats the metaphorical horse to death lambasting the industrial food system. I didn't make it through Part I the first time I tried reading it 10 years ago and now I can see why. Even though it is the shortest of the 3 parts there is a redundancy and negativity where I felt it should have been edited down even further.

    Part II - Pastoral is the longest of the 3 parts and was my favorite part of the book. I grew up on a farm/ranch and some of the descriptions and emotions that he conveyed took me right back onto my family farm. I don't think it would be much of a reach to assume Pollan a lefty/liberal city slicker having grown up in the New England, moved to California and teaching at Berkley, but in his writings of the "grass farmer" Joel you can tell how much respect and admiration he has for the man even though their personal and political beliefs may be worlds apart. I also thought Pollan's critique and DILEMMAs he posed in this section led to some of his best writing in the book.

    Part III - Personal was a excellent conclusion to the book, though it does have a completely different tone to it. The first two Parts (Industrial and Pastoral) are an examination of the US food system. This last part is Pollan doing his best to recreate the hunter-gatherer food lifestyle while living in urban California, in hopes that it will add to the big picture he painted for us in the first two parts. As someone who grew up on a farm hunting it was refreshing to have a novice from the city, who likely looked down on us in someway, dive fully into the hunter outdoorsmen experience to understand our way of life. I'd be proud to buy Mr. Pollan a beer congratulating him on his first successful hunt. I also found the chapters on the mysterious mushrooms and preparing the food educational and entertaining. Angelo in particular seems like pretty cool, kickass dude.

    A few critiques:
    Mr. Pollan frequently uses personification when talking about plants and their evolution, like when he makes statements that corn chose us as much as we chose it. That's not how it works and I found it to be a distracting and annoying repeated offense.

    Finished in late 2005, the book could use an update on the farming end. The farmers had a nice run for a stretch, lets say 2009-2015. Things have turned really ugly in both the cattle markets and commodity markets since then. It would be nice to see an update of why things turned around for the better, then flipped again. And we could always use a few more wise words from Mr. Joel Salatin.

    Looking forward to reading and reviewing "In Defense of Food".
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  • Placeholder
    5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful useful book
    Reviewed in India on 27 December 2021
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    I am a fan of this writer and have got other books written by him which have been very helpful for my work. this is a new book and I am just beginning to read it. but like all his other books this too is a very good addition to my book shelf. thank you.
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  • Steph
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book! Anyone who eats food they don't produce on their own, should read it
    Reviewed in Canada on 21 March 2013
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    This book is amazing. I recently graduated from University with a degree in Nutrition and though we spent a good amount of time studying policies, this book delved into the realism of the situation from a more consumer-friendly standpoint.

    At one point in the book, I almost cried I felt so bad about the way my food is produced. This isn't what I'd call a bad thing, but I never realized that for every calorie in a boxed/bagged salad about 50 calories of fossil fuel is consumed getting it from farm to fork. So we're spending more energy than what we're getting from our food. Huge eye opener.

    There are many great parts to this book and I really like Pollan's point of view. He doesn't seem to mix in a huge emotion so that you feel like you're reading somebody's opinion only. He stays quite neutral and explains who is benefiting from each type/realm of food production.

    Overall, loving this book, will probably read again, recommend to friends, and definitely will read more of his books.
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  • pragya108
    5.0 out of 5 stars Life-changing!!!!
    Reviewed in France on 13 December 2012
    Verified Purchase
    In the vast middle class in which most of you reading this live, we have totally lost contact with the sources of our food. And when you do get back in touch with the realities of food - especially how it is all produced today - you realise that we are doing so much harm to our planet, our fellow animals and ourselves... This book is a good wake-up call and reality check. Get your head out of the sand!!
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  • Angel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente ensayo de Pollan sobre la alimentación en USA
    Reviewed in Spain on 1 March 2025
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    Pollan no suele fallar, tiene un estilo fácil de leer y agradecido que hace que las páginas del libra fluyan.
    Nos da unas pinceladas del sistema agroalimentario de USA desde dentro que a veces asustan.
    Muy recomendable como ensayo sobre lo que es y lo que debería ser importante en la alimentación,

    Lo compré de segunda mano en una librería de USA (estado: como nuevo) y aunque me tardó en llegar, la comunicación con el vendedor fue excelente y al libro le faltaba el precinto para ser nuevo, no creo ni que lo hubieran leído una vez
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